OPs James Hopwood (95-04) and Tom Screeton (98-09) featured in a recent episode of Dom Digs In, the BBC One series hosted by Dom Littlewood giving hands-on insights into the vital role of Britain’s essential workers.
In the programme, James (UK & Italy Agriculture Manager) and Tom (Senior Agricultural Fieldsman) give Dom a crash course in the Birds Eye pea harvesting process, offering him first-hand experience of the round-the-clock harvesting operation and the hard work, attention to detail and speed required to ensure all peas go from picked to frozen within 150 minutes of being harvested.
Based in East Yorkshire, James and Tom show Dom the different processes involved in one of agriculture’s most logistically challenging and time-critical operations. From collecting samples, walking the fields and bringing in the harvest in a brand new pea harvester, to a stint in ‘The Giant’ in Hull - one of the largest pea-freezing factories in the world – where Dom helps coordinate the harvest and test the peas at quality control, before finally getting them frozen.
James commented: “For 75 years Birds Eye and our agriculture team has been responsible for the unique value chain that delivers consistently high-quality peas underpinned by core values and strong partnerships with our farmers to deliver our much-loved peas. It is therefore a really proud moment to add a little more to the heritage of the brand and have the opportunity to represent Birds Eye with the UK Agriculture Team on the BBC with Dom.”
Tom added: “It was a real pleasure to be involved in the programme and highlighting the work that goes into the Birds Eye pea supply chain each summer. If you’d like an insight into what we do and how we deliver the highest quality peas to your plate, it’s definitely worth a watch.”
Episode 2 of Dom Digs In featuring James and Tom is now available on iPlayer if any OPs would like to watch, click here.